Once a week, Shannon and I have the girls, Emma and Audrey, and their partners and friends, over for Family night. We cook, hang out, watch TV, and do all the things that families do.
Last night we watch a few episodes of Queer Eye. Not only are these hosts masterful entertainers but also masterful therapists.
Their whole schtick is making people be seen.
If you think about this, is there anything in life, more important than to see and be seen?
Being seen in psychological terms means feeling acknowledged, validated, and understood by others. It is a basic human need that stems from our evolutionary and social nature. When we feel seen, we feel that we belong, that we matter, and that we are not alone.
As I sat there, on the couch, watching the show, I couldn’t help but feel that, as a career and life photographer, my whole thing, as a snapper, is making people, places, and things….be seen, appreciated, admired, validated, and noticed. Click
For me, this all goes back to a deep and abiding sense of mission in photography-to use photography to heighten and enhance my life experiences.
For, through photography, in the process of myself being seen, with my camera in hand, I make other things, experiences, and emotions be seen.
Photography can be a way of seeing ourselves, our relationships, and our world in new and different ways. Photography can help us explore, express, and communicate our inner and outer realities.
Photography can inspire and challenge us to think critically, creatively, and compassionately. Photography can celebrate and honor the beauty, diversity, and dignity of life.
And so it seems, photographers, all of us, have a queer eye too.
Click.
Jack
